Boulder Police Officers Fatally Shoot Domestic Violence Suspect
Posted on
July 18,2023
On May 25, 2023, 36-year-old Christopher Swanger had two active felony domestic violence warrants pending for his arrest. The first originated in Adams County and involved charges of Assault in the Second Degree and Child Abuse, from an incident on January 26, 2022. The second warrant was for charges of Assault in the Second Degree and Intimidating a Victim. Around 12:55 a.m. on May 13, 2023, police had responded to the victim's residence located at 1717 Baseline Road in Boulder. Swanger had struck the victim in the face with a closed fist and, also, damaged her tablet electronic device before leaving the residence. It was learned that the victim had suffered an orbital fracture. The victim explained that Swanger had threatened to kill her on multiple occasions and that he kept a handgun in his car. While officers were speaking with the victim, Swanger called her three times to berate and threaten her. Ultimately, officers advised him that a warrant would be issued for his arrest. The victim later received a text message from Swanger, which stated, in part, "You'd be smart to call that fucking cop and change your story, if you don't I'll be seeing you again real fucking soon... On May 25, 2023, at 9:40 p.m., the victim called 911 to report that Swanger had called her and stated that he was coming to her apartment that night between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Officers responded to protect the victim and arrest Swanger; in theevent he actually went to her residence. At 11:17 p.m., Swanger arrived as a passenger in a vehicle. Officer Taylor attempted to initiate contact with him, but Swanger proceeded to throw a Monster energy drink at him. Swanger then began to walk quickly away. In response, Officer Taylor commanded Swanger to stop and to show his hands. Swanger refused to comply and continued to walk away whilereaching into a satchel. Officer Taylor repeated the commandsand, also, told Swanger to get on the ground or he would be tased. Swanger did not follow these orders and was tased, which caused him to fall to the ground. Officers then approached Swanger while he was on the ground. When they were within two to three feet, Swanger pulled out a black handgun. Officer Taylor yelled, "gun" as Swanger pointed his firearm toward Officer Taylor. The evidence demonstrates that both officers then made a split-second decision to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and Ms. Verner. They began firing at Swanger as they tried to back away. Swanger fired one round at Officer Taylor that missed. Officer Taylor fired a total of 12 rounds and Officer Keith fired 11 rounds. Swanger’s gun most likely malfunctioned after firing the single shot at the officers. The whole incident only took place in twenty-five seconds, from the initial contact at the truck to the end of shots being fired. With the circumstances that happened in the incident it was reasonable for Officer Keith and Officer Taylor to believe that Swanger was armed with a firearm with the intent to shoot and that he presented an imminent threat of deadly harm to them, their fellow officers, and the victim. As defined by Colorado law, the physical force used by these officers was reasonable. Consequently, there are no criminal charges that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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